Sonido to the Future!
by Epsilon Zeta
Summary: Okay, now this has turned into an epic story with a time traveler trying to prevent a dark future. And it's all Sandal-Hat's fault. REVISED SHUNPO SEQUEL.
1. The King, the Horse and the Sword

**Sonido to the Future! – The King, the Horse and the Sword**

_Disclaimer_: Bleach is the intellectual property of Tite Kubo.

"Sandal-Hat! Sandal-Hat! Sandal-Hat!!"

He paused for a moment as he recognized the voice calling out that nickname. 'Wait a minute! That sounded familiar!'

He then felt a pair of arms grip his shoulders and whirl him around. "Sandal-Hat!!"

One look at the intruder was enough for the scientist to let out an undignified scream of shock. "AAARRRGGHH!! W-w-wha… ?!"

The intruder had the same orange hair, brown eyes and youthful look as Kurosaki Ichigo and he could make out the familiar handle of the young man's zanpakuto but the top left side of his face and the bottom right side of his jaw were covered by pieces of a Hollow Mask. He wore a long shredded white cloak with pieces of black fabric sticking out from multiple angles. A black sash was wrapped around his mid-section while a small bit of his chest could be seen along with the hole where his Chain of Fate used to be. The rest of his outfit consisted of a white hakama, black socks and white sandals.

"Okay, relax Urahara. It's me! It's me, Ichigo!"

Kisuke wildly shook his head in denial. "NOOO!! It can't be you!! I just sent you back to the future… as a _Shinigami_!!"

Ichigo tried to get the man to calm down. "I know. It's a long story about how I turned into an _Arrancar_ but you did send me back to the future. Now I'm back from the future…… and I need your help."

After a long silence, Urahara finally uttered the only words appropriate for this situation.

"…… Great Scott!" And with that, he fainted due to the overwhelming shock and his exhaustion catching up to him.

"Urahara? Come on, man… wake up!" After groaning once, Ichigo picked up the man's body and headed for the chamber's exit to deposit the unconscious scientist on to a couch or something.

He didn't get too far though because as soon as he left the chamber, he was confronted by the large muscular man known as Tsukabishi Tessai. "Halt, uninvited guest!!"

"Oh, for the love of-"

**OOOOOOOOOO**

When Urahara started coming to, he recognized the outlook of his living room and could hear some music coming from the TV. A theme song for some program…

"_Hailing from the Emerald Planet and armed with the 'Globe-Meter', it's… SUPER GIANT!!_"

'Ah, yes… the network is re-broadcasting the last movie to raise public interest in the upcoming film…' After shaking that thought out of his head, he fumbled around to find his notebook so he could record his thoughts down. Just as he found the book, he heard someone come into the room.

"I see you're awake, Kisuke."

The man looked at his old friend. "So you're the one who brought me in here? Thank goodness… I just had the craziest vision that Kurosaki-san has come back from the future."

Yoruichi just grinned at the mention of the name. "That boy's an interesting one, huh?"

Before he could reply, he heard a high-pitched female voice from behind him. "Yo, Sandal-Hat."

Urahara slightly twitched before he turned around to see a small girl with curly brown hair (complete with a pink bow), green eyes and a very pink outfit. She was just barely on top of the couch. "…… let me guess. That's Kurosaki-san in there with my latest _gigai_?"

"Yup! Isn't he just adorable?" Before either of the two males could blink, the former Covert Ops commander had flash stepped to crush the small _gigai_ to her chest.

While gasping for air, Ichigo managed to get out a death threat. "I swear… with Aizen-sama as my witness… that I will get you… back for this humiliation…"

The slip of the tongue caught the attention of the other two occupants in the room. "Aizen-sama?"

"Sorry… my mind's feeling a bit jumbled. It's like a poorly done fusion of my memories and personality and his memories and personality…" Ichigo paused for a moment. "Actually, I can explain it better on the notebook if you can let me go first. Pass me that pen too."

After the small girl got her notebook and pen, she drew a straight line. "This is the timeline of the me that you two first encountered with Soken about a week ago. When I got sent back to the future, I travelled to this timeline, which we'll call timeline B for reference purposes, instead." She drew another straight line just parallel to the first one before connecting the two with another line. "The Ichigo native to timeline B was the original dominant personality. From what I can recall, as soon as I arrived at my destination, I was trapped in his soul until he accidentally released me. Since then, I have been the dominant personality for the most part but at times, there are aspects of Ichigo B's behaviour that leak out… such as me addressing that bastard Aizen as Aizen-sama."

Yoruichi merely groaned at all of this. "Whoa, this is heavy."

"Okay, let's back up for a moment. How do we know that you're the genuine Kurosaki Ichigo that we're all familiar with? There has to be a test that we can run-"

"If you try and make me say that damn Justice Headband incantation or perform the Time Warp song, I will personally show you my _resurrección_," replied the time traveler in an irritated tone.

"…… I guess this is the genuine article. But why the _gigai_, Yoruichi?"

"I can't blame you for not understanding since you haven't been able to compare the spirit pressures but I can tell you that this new Ichigo is more than twice as strong as the original one I sparred with. I'm not sure how much spirit pressure that this base of yours can conceal from Soul Society but I figured it would be best to play it safe and stuff him in the _gigai_ to prevent his spirit pressure from leaking out too much."

"I see." Urahara sighed for a moment before turning to Ichigo with a serious look. "I want to know more about timeline B… the one where you addressed that man as Aizen-sama."

Before he could speak, Tessai entered the living room carrying a tray of tea and some miso soup, fish, seaweed and rice. A white bandage was wrapped around the top of his head. "I have prepared some breakfast for everyone."

"Thanks. Sorry about earlier, Tessai."

The apology from the little girl made the larger man feel a bit unsettled. "Er… yeah…" He quietly slipped away to get some rest.

After consuming some food, the little girl began her long story. "The actual trip through time didn't seem any different. It was how it ended that actually caused me to realize that something was wrong…"

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Once again, Ichigo was experiencing that feeling of eternal pain and the ripping sensation of his spiritual body but he continued to endure it. Then exactly fifty seconds later after he made his jump, he found himself in the driver's seat of some vehicle. His hands were clutching the steering wheel tightly while his right foot was secured against the gas pedal. All he could see was a long stretch of road surrounded by darkness. As soon as he realized that he was driving, he started to panic which caused the car to start swerving.

"**What the hell type of driving is that?!**" screeched a familiar voice. The orange haired youth turned to his right to see his Hollow self in the passenger seat right next to him with the same white hair and skin and the same inverted _Shinigami_ uniform.

"What are you doing here?!"

"**Dammit, keep your eyes on the road!! Fix that steering wheel and get yourself straight!!**"

"Gah!!" He continued swerving for a bit before finally settling down enough to straighten the vehicle on the road.

"**God, if I wanted to die, I can think of much better ways of going out instead of dying a fucking stupid death because of your dumb driving. Haven't you played a racing game before?!**"

Ichigo concentrated to keep his eyes on the road while talking to his passenger. "I did play a little bit of Initial D an-"

His Hollow self immediately cut him off. "**Oh right… you're Kurosaki Ichigo. The moron who can't bother doing normal teenager stuff like playing video games and drooling at hot chicks. Instead, you have to try and cultivate a detached image while-**"

"Okay, how about we just move the subject on as to why I'm driving a car and why you're in the passenger seat!!"

Before his Hollow self could reply, the darkness surrounding the road lifted, revealing a rather black and white world with ruined office buildings. While Ichigo tried to get an idea of his surroundings, his Hollow self started to screech again. This time in a rather panicked and frantic tone. "**Hit the brakes!! HIT THE BRAKES!!**"

"Huh?" He turned back in time to notice that he was getting rather close to a large concrete wall. "GAH!!" His right foot immediately stepped off the gas pedal and slammed the braking pedal as hard as he could, bringing the vehicle to a complete stop just inches away from the wall.

It took a few seconds for the two vehicle occupants to figure out how to open the door. Rather than swinging out to the side like a normal vehicle, it swung up instead. As soon as he stepped out of the car, he took a good look at it and wondered what the hell he was doing in a genuine De-Lorean that seemed to be pulled right out of that American time travel movie.

"**Holy shit!!** **What the hell is wrong with you?! I swear to God that getting that driver's license is going to be a pain in the ass if that splendid display of driving back there is any indication of how you're going to do on the Road Test!!**"

That was when another avatar in the same area tried to get their attention by clearing his throat. "Ahem."

"Hey, I was thrown into that situation with no warning whatsoever!! The way I drove back there isn't a good indicator of how I would drive in real life!!"

"**Just how much Initial D did you play again? God, your scores must have really sucked.**"

"Since when did this turn into a discussion of my gaming ability?!" Before Ichigo could go on with his tirade, his instincts took over and he ducked just as the wall in front of the De-Lorean exploded from a _cero_ blast.

He glanced over at his Hollow counterpart who had ducked as well. "**I didn't do it.**"

"That would be me." Ichigo froze as the voice sounded very similar to his own. He turned his head to see a white clad version of himself with the same orange hair and normal skin colour… except there were bits of his Hollow mask on his face. He continued to speak as he reached for his version of _Zangetsu_ on his back. "I do not understand the meaning of this but since it was because of your presence that caused me to enter this realm, the only option of escape would be to kill you both. However… I am curious…"

'…… an _Arrancar_?!' He reached for his zanpakuto but realized that it wasn't on his back. A quick glance at the vehicle revealed that both versions of _Zangetsu_ had been tied to their respective sides of the vehicle against the door. They quickly fetched their weapons and allowed the wrapping to slip off before pointing their blades at the third warrior.

"Who are you precisely? And why do you resemble me so much?"

Ichigo scowled. "Kinda rude to demand who the hell someone else is without introducing yourself first."

"Very well. I am the Primera Espada… Fresa Abismo."

This caused the Hollow version of Ichigo to swear. "**Son of a bitch!! You better get outta here, partner. This shit is gonna get ugly quick.**"

"What are you talking about?! We can probably take him down if we worked together!"

"**Don't give me that shit, dumbass… if I'm going to have any chance at kicking this guy's ass, I'm gonna need to go all out. And you'll just be in the way. Besides, you have a more important job to do. You're gonna need to find out when and where we fucked up that got us into this shithole.**"

He figured out just what exactly his Hollow doppelganger was hinting at. '…… and I can do that while in the Espada body while he and Fresa keep each other occupied. Now the question is… just how strong is he?'

Before he could ponder it over, Fresa made the first move. With a brief static sound, he used _sonido_ to get within striking distance of Ichigo but before his blade could land on his target, the Hollow avatar moved in to block it. "**Just let me worry about how strong this guy is!! Get your ass moving!!**"

"…… don't die on me! I'll still be needing your power for later!!" With that said, Ichigo flash stepped out of the way to safety.

"**HAH!!** **I should be the one telling you not to die on me!! Whatever you do, King… don't fuck up in front of that bastard Aizen!!**"

"Nobody talks about Aizen-sama that way!!" roared Fresa.

"**Looks like I hit a nerve!! Do your worst!!**"

As the battle intensified behind him, Ichigo made his way towards the sole source of light in this drab and weary world.

**OOOOOOOOOO**

He could feel himself lying on a bed according to his sense of touch as soon as he started waking up. Just ahead of him, he could barely see the silhouette of a well endowed woman with long hair. "M-mom? Is that you?" croaked Ichigo in a hoarse voice. He didn't know why he said mom in the first place but her presence felt quite maternal.

The woman slowly approached him on the left side of the bed. "Just relax. You've been asleep for about four hours."

He groaned once as he raised his right hand towards his head. "I had this horrible nightmare. It was terrible…"

"Well you're safe and sound, back in good old _Las Noches_."

Ichigo bolted up from the bed from her answer. "_Las Noches_?! Argh!" This allowed him to get a good look at his surroundings. The room was pure white with little basic furniture such as a desk and some chairs. There was also a small stack of scrolls neatly organized in a corner next to an open storage chest which had _Zangetsu_ and a second sword the size of a standard katana sticking out of it.

And then of course, there's that well endowed woman right by the left side of his bed. She had long green hair and golden eyes, with a strange little red streak painted just across her face underneath her eyes. Her Hollow mask looked like a goat skull that rested on top of her head. As for her attire, she was dressed in what appeared to be a white jumpsuit with a pair of white gloves. A black strap that allowed her to keep her sword at her side was attached to her waist.

Ichigo pointed a shaky finger at her. "You're my-my - my..." He paused when he realized that he had no idea who this woman is. "Who are you?"

Lucky for him, she didn't seem to recognize that he was being serious. In fact, she seemed quite amused at his behaviour. "I suppose I should be thankful that you're trying to lighten up as Ichimaru-san suggested but I think you're going a bit overboard, Fresa."

"…… yeah…" Before he could think further, there was a knock on his door. "Uh… come in?"

As it opened, it revealed two other _Arrancar_ on the other side. One was rather large, with traces of his Hollow mask covering his eyes, hair and his forehead, making him look like a masked superhero of sorts. The other was smaller with his mask decorated the same way as the other with this mask bearing some resemblance to an insect. The two were wearing similar white uniforms with a basic long sleeved shirt, hakama, black socks and sandals. "How is Fresa-sama doing?" asked the large one.

The woman turned her head to greet the new visitors. "He's okay although I'm not sure what could have caused him to pass out like that back there. But then again, he may not have been getting the proper rest. You know how he is when he receives assignments from Aizen-sama."

The smaller of the two visitors chuckled. "How true. Do you want to go get dinner now, Neliel-sama?"

"Sounds good to me! Let's go, Fresa!" She took his hand and before Ichigo knew it, she was dragging him out of his room and into the white corridor with the two other _Arrancar_ following them. They had the courtesy to bring out one sword each from Ichigo's storage chest.

"Whoa… wait a minute! I can walk by myself you know!"

Her only response was to turn around and smile warmly at him. "Sorry… even though I know that you're the Primera Espada and I should act more like a subordinate colleague, you'll always be my little Fresa." She paused for a moment as if relishing a particular memory.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine… it's been a while since you called me mom earlier. Hearing that again just made me feel a little happy." Ichigo merely stood there in shock at her statement. Before he could speak, he heard someone sniffle from behind him.

"It's good to see Fresa-sama being a loving son again!! WAAAAAHHHH!!" The large _Arrancar_ who was carrying _Zangetsu_ started crying at the sentimental moment.

"There there, Dondochakka," murmured the smaller one while awkwardly patting the other on the shoulder with his free hand.

"Fresa, you mentioned having a horrible nightmare. What did you dream about?"

"Well…" Just as he was going to think up of an answer to give to his apparent maternal figure, he heard a swishing sound that signified the use of flash steps and saw a dark skinned male, dressed in a similar white uniform except he had black gloves, a sleeveless top, and an orange accessory hanging around his upper torso along with a white visor.

"May we be of assistance, Kaname-sama?" asked the green-haired woman in a polite but rather professional tone, completely the opposite of her warm tone earlier.

"Neliel Tu Oderschvank. Fresa Abismo. Your presence is requested by Aizen-sama. I trust that you will not be tardy." With his message delivered, the former Ninth Division Captain vanished from their sight.

As soon as he vanished, the words of his Hollow self rang through Ichigo's mind.

"**Whatever you do, King… don't fuck up in front of that bastard Aizen!!**"

'Easier said than done…'

A light irritated sigh from Neliel interrupted Ichigo's thoughts. "I guess we'll have to put dinner plans on hold. Let's go."

**Chapter 2 Preview!**

"Ehhh?! Now an _Arrancar_ woman has entered the picture?! What's with this?! Aren't we good enough for Ichigo-dono?"

"Hmmmmmm…"

"I mean, I've got good body proportions! At least, I think I do! What do you think, Lisa?"

"I believe I now understand the reasoning for this latest addition, Hinamori-kun."

"Eh? What do you mean?"

"Ichigo-san has Hisana and Rukia to fulfill any twin fantasies he may have. Then there's Karin and Yuzu who can fulfill the little sister fantasies… although you may be able to be used in that respect as well. If he desires a partner with a large bust, Rangiku will do. Nemu fulfills the slave fantasy and…"

"Get to the point already!!"

"Neliel is there to act as a target for any type of Oedipus complex that Ichigo-san may have. In simple terms, she fulfills the MILF fetish."

"………"

"Hey, you wanted to know."

**OMAKE: Shinigami's Cup Golden!**

"**What the hell type of driving is that?!**" screeched a familiar voice. The orange haired youth turned to his right to see his Hollow self in the passenger seat right next to him with the same white hair and skin and the same inverted _Shinigami_ uniform.

"What are you doing here?!"

"**Dammit, keep your eyes on the road!! Fix that steering wheel and get yourself straight!!**" At that moment, both Ichigo and his Hollow self then noticed that ahead of them was a dead end concrete wall. "**Okay, change of plan. Hit the gas pedal and get up to 88 miles per hour while I set a time and date on the time circuits!**"

"Are you insane?! I'm hitting the-" He trailed off as he saw the wall from behind him collapse and the road disappear. And then there's that big ball with a single light that just appeared out of nowhere and started following them. "The fuck?!"

"**It's the Capturing Flow. If we get caught in that, we're… is that the Capturing Thrust?! DAMMIT!! Hit the gas pedal!!**"

"We'll die if we hit the wall!!"

"**You're not thinking fourth dimensionally, dumbass!! If we hit 88 miles per hour, we'll activate the flux capacitor and travel through time to safety! Are you too chicken or something to go faster?!**"

At the mention of the word chicken, Ichigo's attitude complete changed to one of pure determination. "Nobody calls me chicken!! I'll show you that I'm no yellow bellied coward!! Hang on!!" He pressed his foot against the gas pedal to accelerate the car even further.

As hot sparks flew around the vehicle, Ichigo blinked. "Just what time period are we going to anyway?"

That was when the Hollow realized that he had totally forgotten to set the time circuits while arguing with the King earlier. "**Oh, shi-**"

Before he could pronounce the 't', the vehicle vanished into the time stream just as the Capturing Thrust collided with the wall.


	2. Journey to the Centre of Hueco Mundo

**Sonido to the Future! – Journey to the Centre of **_**Hueco Mundo**_

_Disclaimer_: Bleach is the intellectual property of Tite Kubo.

Ichigo took careful notes of his surroundings as he followed Neliel on what seemed to be an endless corridor of white concrete. Along the way, his group would pass various other _Arrancar_ who would simply greet him with a 'Fresa-sama' or nod their heads as a salute. The only response that he gave to those greetings was a nod of his own once in a while since he didn't want to risk blowing his cover.

"Fresa?"

He felt like he could jump out of his skin when that woman called him again. It took him a moment for him to calm down before he addressed her. "What is it?"

"Are you sure you're okay? It's like this is your first time heading to the Throne Room." With the amount of concern being reflected in Neliel's eyes, Ichigo had to avert his gaze briefly.

"It's nothing."

"Fresa…" There was that maternal tone as in 'you better start telling me the truth, young man'.

Considering that he couldn't win against that when his mother was still alive, Ichigo had to carefully formulate his words so that it technically wouldn't be a lie. "I'm just feeling a bit woozy from earlier."

"Do you want to go back and rest?"

"As I said before, it's nothing. You don't have to act like a mother hen around me. Besides, we must answer Aizen-sama's summons." It scared him a little to hear how naturally 'Aizen-sama' came off his tongue.

"…… of course," murmured Neliel before she continued on the way.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, they arrived at the entrance of the Throne Room. Neliel's two _Fracción_ handed Ichigo his blades so that he could strap them on before he passed through the entrance. Once the two swords were properly secured, both he and Neliel entered a large chamber that was dimly lit. It took a moment for Ichigo to adjust his eyes to the new surroundings.

While the centre of the room was bare, there were slabs of rock stacked up against the surrounding walls. He could see various _Arrancar_ scattered on these slabs. One of them, a small blonde haired male, crouched near the left side of Kaname Tousen while another one, with short black hair, purple eyes and an effeminate appearance, was having a quiet but lively conversation with a familiar weasel-faced man.

Out of all of the _Arrancar_ present, Ichigo recognized two of them. The first one was a bald, large man who had the Hollow mask remnant consisting of the entire jawbone resting on his chin. As for the other, he had only a light top on, with most of his chest exposed along with his Hollow hole, located on his abdomen. The remnants of his mask consisted of the right jawbone hanging off of his face.

At the opposite side of the entrance, a throne rested on a large stone structure, giving the one seated upon it a good overall view of the chamber. It wasn't hard for Ichigo to recognize the occupant of the throne. He could clearly remember the slick hairstyle and those menacing eyes when Aizen ascended to _Hueco Mundo_. The clothing style was a bit different with a white long-sleeved coat covering a white uniform that had a purple sash tied around the waist.

He quietly made his way to the centre of the room and bowed before the man seated on the throne. "How may I serve you, Aizen-sama?" There it was again… the way how easily he addressed that man as his master.

Before Aizen could answer, there was a rude interruption from a familiar voice. "Hah! As if Fresa's in any condition to do any sort of service! He just collapsed like a wuss only a few hours ago!"

"That's enough, Grimmjow." To emphasize his command, the man seated on the throne raised his spiritual pressure just enough to cause Grimmjow to wince for a moment before lowering it. "However, this does raise the question as to why you had fallen unconscious all of a sudden."

"I'm afraid that I cannot adequately answer that question. But I will not let this impede upon my ability to be of service to you."

A small pleased smile came to Aizen's face. "Your dedication is admirable, Fresa Abismo. In that case, I shall not pursue the matter but I do suggest that you pay a visit to Szayel when you have a spare moment so you can try to determine what caused this lapse of consciousness."

"Yes, sir."

"Now, as to the original reason why I have summoned you here… I would like you and Neliel to seek the _Vasto Lorde_. I understand that there are very few of these _menos_ who exist in _Hueco Mundo_ so I won't be expecting fast results for this task."

At the mention of the _Vasto Lorde_, Hitsugaya's mini-lecture about the different classes of _menos _came to mind. "…… does this mean that preparations to strike are almost complete?"

"That's correct. While I am hopeful that you can recruit at least one _Vasto Lorde_ to let things proceed much more smoothly, we can still execute the operation to create the Royal Key without them."

'Inoue mentioned the Royal Key back when I was still training with the Vizards. That means he's gonna obliterate Karakura soon…' Even with this thought in mind, he was able to retain his composure.

That was when the weasel-faced man finally spoke up. "Well, it ain't like Soul Society's gonna sit back an' let that town git destroyed. They probably figured things out by now."

"It matters not, Gin. They will not be able to withstand our offensive." He then turned back his attention to Ichigo. "Fresa, I also have one more favour to ask of you. I will be assigning three _Fracción_ underneath you. It is my hope that you will be able to act as a mentor of sorts to help them develop into outstanding _Arrancar_."

"I shall do my best to bring out their potential, Aizen-sama."

Aizen had a pleased look on his face at the response he received. "And I expect nothing less from you. You may leave and make your preparations."

After the both of them bowed once more to their leader, they quietly left through the same Throne Room entrance. It wasn't until they had put a considerable distance between themselves and the Throne Room that Neliel spoke. "Pesche, Dondochakka… I'll be counting on you to look after things while we are away on our mission."

A synchronized "Yes, Neliel-sama" was their response before they shuffled off to tend to their duties.

Meanwhile, Ichigo was trying to digest what had just happened. So far, nobody seemed to detect that anything was wrong but at the same time, he didn't find anything that would suggest which event in the past had occurred to shape this alternate future. He was just going to have to take things carefully one step at a time. Hopefully, his Hollow counterpart could keep the true owner of this body occupied.

Now he just had to be careful on how he approached his relations with the other _Arrancar_. 'So far, there's Neliel who seemed to be a maternal figure to this timeline's Ichigo. Grimmjow seems to be the same old rude and annoying pain in the ass. That other big guy didn't seem so different either.'

He was so lost in thought that he failed to register a pair of footsteps rapidly approaching the duo. Neliel, on the other hand, saw who was approaching and wisely put some distance between herself and the very soon to be Ground Zero that was Fresa Abismo.

"Fresa-sama!!"

Just as Ichigo heard someone call out for him, a human torpedo rammed him from behind, causing him to fall flat on the floor face down. It was lucky that his sword helped to soften the impact but it was still a rather jarring experience. "ARGH!! What the hell?!"

Neliel gave a disappointed sigh. "You really should be more aware of your surroundings. And you call yourself the Primera Espada…"

He merely growled at her comment before turning around to look at his surprise attacker. The one on top of him was a young female _Arrancar_ with short light green hair, an exposed right pink eye and a rather skimpy outfit. Her white footwear stretched up past her knees and stopped just below her waist. Her white gloves worked similarly as well, covering most of her arms and stopping just below her shoulders. A white vest was the sole top she had that just covered her small breasts with a pair of short white underpants completing the outfit. The Hollow mask looked like a helmet, which covered her head and her left eye. A small flame red design was visible over the segment covering the left eye. A sharp horn rested on each side of the helmet although one of them seemed to be partially cut off. As for her Hollow hole, it rested just above her exposed belly button.

Ichigo concentrated on looking at the girl's face and not her exposed chest. "Just what do you think you're doing?"

She gave a wide grin. "Is that any way to greet your new _Fracción_?"

"…… you're kidding me."

"Nope! The name's Lilinette and I'm looking forward to serving your every need! And I do mean… **every**… need…" She hinted at her exposed chest, causing the male to nearly have a seizure.

"Ahem…" That was when Neliel cleared her throat to remind Lilinette that she was still around. The smaller female merely laughed nervously before getting off Ichigo's back.

He gave a small groan as he got up. "Ugh… I just hope that the other two aren't as crazy as you…"

"Um… excuse me, Fresa-sama?" He twitched as he heard another female voice call him and turned towards the source of the voice. This time, there were two other females who weren't dressed as lightly as Lilinette. The first had short blonde hair similar to Grimmjow's with the remnants of her mask covering the upper-right side of her head and face, including her eye. The other female had her mask placed similarly to the first except it covered the upper-left side of her head. Her uniform looked like a standard sailor fuku from a Japanese school with the top exposing her shoulders and her cleavage area, a schoolgirl-themed skirt and what appeared to be black boots reaching her thighs. As for her hairstyle, her black hair was done in pigtails.

"…… let me guess. You're the other two _Fracción_?"

Both girls bowed deeply. "I'm Menoly and she's Loly. We look forward to working under you."

Ichigo sighed once before he addressed his newly assigned_ Fracción_. "Look, I really need to get ready for a mission now so we can talk more about this arrangement later, ok?" He had hoped that would be enough to get them to back off as he started making his way back to his quarters but unfortunately, they started to follow him.

"Can't we get to know each other a bit more? I mean… there's a lot about you that we would like to know," said Lilinette.

"Like what?"

Before the smaller _Arrancar_ could answer, it was Menoly who spoke up. "We were wondering… if you could tell us about that sword on your back."

He paused when she mentioned the blade. "…… excuse me?"

She really should have picked up the dangerous way he said those words but nonetheless, she continued to prod. "Well… there's this story going around about how when Aizen-sama changed you into an _Arrancar_, an oversized sealed_ zanpakuto_ also came out of the wrapping as well. And what's strange is that apparently, the spirit force used to create it felt like it belonged to a _Shinigami_."

Before either Ichigo or Neliel could react, a static sound echoed throughout the corridor and Menoly stiffened when she felt a rather firm grip on her right shoulder. "So these are your new _Fracción_? I can see you have your work cut out for you, Fresa… starting with breaking them of their gossiping habits," grunted a female voice.

The newcomer had the standard white hakama, black socks and sandals with her top being a long sleeved jacket that left the midriff and the bottom portion of her large breasts exposed. The collar of her top covered the bottom half of her face, leaving only the eyes, part of the nose and the blonde hair visible. Her _zanpakuto_ was strapped on her back, reminding Ichigo of that crazy small female _Shinigami_.

Neliel was the first one to break out of her shock. "Halibel?"

For the time traveler, it was the first time he had seen this particular member of Aizen's army. He didn't really know too much about her except that her spiritual pressure was around the same as Neliel's. Perhaps even slightly higher. While he filed this away for later thought, he made a casual remark as if he had truly been living in _Las Noches_ as one of the Espada.

"I don't suppose you have any tips on how to deal with newly assigned _Fracción_?"

Halibel released Menoly's shoulder before replying. "I'm not sure what kind of tips I can come up that would be useful for you since the relationships between Espada and their _Fracción_ differ. I can only speak from experience when I first met my own _Fracción_."

"Oh, I remember them!" exclaimed Neliel. "Two of them were pretty rowdy while the third seemed lost in her own little world. What did you do to get through to them?"

"I made them dance like they wanted to win."

There was a creepy silence after Halibel's response before Lilinette started giggling at the mental image. For Ichigo though, he felt quite awkward at the thought of dancing _Arrancar_. "Okay… how about you clarify what you meant by that?"

"It's simple. I devised a training exercise in which Sun-Sun, Mila Rose and Apache would be forced to synchronize their combat movements in order to land a single strike on me. It proved rather useful as it allowed me to help break them of their poor combat habits and tactics and it allowed them to start trusting each other to a degree."

"So that's the reason behind that weird music I kept hearing from their quarters," murmured Loly. "What kind of music was it, Halibel-sama?"

"That is something of a mystery to me. I couldn't recognize the language that the song had been performed in. All I know is that it's about some male _gaijin_ named Jawnee Bee Goodow. Apparently, he must have cast some sort of charm upon my _Fracción_ when they used that poor excuse of a song as a basis for training. If I ever do meet this man, I will take preventive measures by tearing out his testicles and ramming it up his anus."

While his own _Fracción_ applauded at her comment, Ichigo could only wonder if there was anyone else in this world that was actually sane. "Oh… kay… I think I'm going to get going now."

"Before I forget… Fresa, you better watch your back. Ulquiorra's been acting a little stranger than usual whenever your name is mentioned around him," said Halibel.

He paused for a moment at those words. "Really? Thanks for the warning but I don't think I have to worry about him too much since I'm the Primera Espada."

This earned an amused grunt from the other woman. "You may be the Primera Espada but you're still family…" She reached up to ruffle his orange hair affectionately. "… and we watch out for each other."

'… geez, what next? Another crazy woman claiming to be my sister or cousin or something?' But it wasn't too bad, knowing that this timeline's Ichigo had some sort of family. "Thanks… Halibel-oba-san."

Poor choice of words on his part as he soon found himself airborne and crashing through multiple walls to another unknown part of _Las Noches_, courtesy of Halibel's fist. The newly assigned _Fracción_ winced as they all heard his panicked scream as he went flying off to who knows where. "AAAARRRGGGHHH!!"

The one responsible for the blow merely brushed the leftover dust off of her clothes. "He really should know better than to address me as a middle-aged woman."

Neliel merely sighed. "I don't think that's what he meant…"

**OOOOOOOOOO**

Ichigo didn't know how long he had been flying for but he finally stopped after breaking the fourth wall (and it's not THAT fourth wall). "Goddamn, she can hit hard…" He groaned once as he rolled over on to his back.

"Fresa Abismo…"

He stiffened as he heard that familiar boring tone and saw the pale face of Ulquiorra Schiffer hovering above his body. "Uh… what's up?"

A chill ran through Ichigo's body as the green eyes of the other _Arrancar_ seemed to pierce into his entire being. After a moment of silence, Ulquiorra finally said what he had wanted to say to the orange-haired youth earlier.

"……… you do not belong here in this world."

**Chapter 3 Preview**

"Is the jig up?! What's gonna happen to Ichigo?!"

"I don't like this, Rangiku! Can't you see the hungry look in their eyes? Those evil _Arrancar_ bitches just can't wait to devour his soul!"

"You mean…"

"Yes, it'll be up to us to rescue him from their evil clutches! You'll need to get in touch with Nemu to see if she can open up a portal to _Hueco Mundo_."

"And what do you plan to do, Senna?"

"I've got to start formulating an effective rescue plan. After all, we've got to prove the worth of the Agent Strawberry Secret Fan Club!"

"But don't you suck at playing _shogi_?"

"…… shut up!"

**OMAKE: Shinigami's Cup Golden!**

'Hmmmm… what blend should I go for? Earl Grey or perhaps Jasmine…' While Aizen mused over what type of tea to brew for the next Espada meeting, he heard a knock on his chamber's door.

"Enter." The door opened to reveal the strongest of the Espada, Fresa Abismo. "Fresa, what can I do for you?"

The youth looked somewhat troubled. "I hope I'm not bothering you, Aizen-sama… but I was wondering about something regarding my new _Fracción_."

"They're not causing you problems, are they?"

Ichigo put up his hands in a defensive gesture. "No, no! It's nothing like that! It's just that… I was wondering if there's something specific about these _Fracción_ that you want me to help them develop. Do they have some hidden power that only I can nurture? Why were they assigned to me in the first place?"

A look of understanding appeared on Aizen's face. "It'll take some time to explain so please take a seat." After the both of them had settled down near the small table where the tea had been set up, the former Fifth Division captain spoke again. "There's a very important reason why I assigned Lilinette, Loly and Menoly to you."

"And that would be…?"

"…… there comes a time when a man starts experiencing all sorts of changes. Emotionally, mentally and physically. A man would start looking at things differently too like females for example. They would feel like they want to do… certain things with them. Every man goes through this phase. Even I did when I was about your age. It had been hard for me to concentrate on anything else when I was going through that phase which is why I decided that Lilinette, Loly and Menoly would help in being available to vent that… need so you can stay focused on what's truly important."

While Aizen had been giving that speech, Ichigo's brain shut down and any hope of retaining his sanity in this world just crumbled.

The other man took his Espada's silence as a sign of overwhelming gratitude. "I know this is a lot to take in but know that as long as you are by my side, I will look after you."


	3. A Strawberry in Lord Aizen's Fortress

**Sonido to the Future! – A Strawberry in Lord Aizen's Fortress**

_Disclaimer_: Bleach is the intellectual property of Tite Kubo.

There was a moment of silence that followed Ulquiorra's statement before Ichigo spoke again. "…… what? Just what do you mean?"

"It is as I said, Fresa. You do not belong here in this world," replied the _Arrancar_ without hesitation.

The orange haired youth's thoughts started racing, wondering if Ulquiorra had figured out who he really is. Still, he needed to play it carefully. He slowly got up to his feet and dusted himself off quickly. "That's a rather bold statement you're making there. Would you care to remind me what's your rank in Aizen-sama's army?"

"I am the Cuarta Espada-" Before he could go on further, Ichigo rudely interrupted him.

"And what rank am I?"

"…… you are the Primera Espada-"

"Now that you've stated both of our ranks, what can you conclude?" asked the time traveler in an authoritative tone.

There was no sign of intimidation on the face of the other _Arrancar_. "You outrank me but-"

"But what I don't get is where you seem to be spewing out this bullshit about me not belonging here when I clearly outrank you. How about you explain that to me?"

"It is simple. Proving your worth, loyalty and faith to Aizen-sama is proof that you belong in _Hueco Mundo_."

This caused the youth to get confused. "But haven't I done that?" To be technical, it would be this timeline's Ichigo that did whatever to get the top dog spot but anyways…

"You have recently started developing a disturbing trend which I have been keeping track of." As he mentioned that, he took out a small cube-shaped device from his left pocket. A quick flash later and a huge THUMP was heard as several stacks of papers as tall as Ulquiorra himself appeared out of nowhere. "As of today, I am leading the mission record with a total of 50 missions complete compared to your 49 missions."

"…… geez, I didn't realize you were keeping count." Ichigo merely twitched at the amount of paperwork that the other _Arrancar_ had pulled out before he sighed. "Look… there's just been a lot going on for me lately. The whole black out thing and getting some new _Fracción_…"

A look of understanding briefly came to Ulquiorra's face. "I see. Perhaps I have jumped to a premature conclusion. If I may offer some advice regarding dealing with the _Fracción_…"

"Uh… shoot?"

"What I have done is after subjecting them through intense combat training, I have revealed to them that in our human lives prior to becoming Hollows; I was their father. Naturally, they went insane with denial and eventually committed suicide. So far, it has worked for me."

The way that Ulquiorra said all that without batting an eye caused Ichigo to slightly back off. "……… I think I'll figure out a better approach of dealing with the girls…"

"I find your lack of faith in my approach disturbing."

"…… okay… I'll be going now." He took a few more steps back before using _sonido_ in a random direction just to get away from Ulquiorra, who seemed to be channelling too much Darth Vader for his taste. It didn't take too long for him to realize that he was lost as he found himself stuck in another unfamiliar long corridor made out of white stone. 'Geez… where do I go from here?'

"Fresa? I didn't expect you to be here." Ichigo slightly stiffened as he heard another unfamiliar male voice address him. Just ahead, he saw a dark skinned _Arrancar_ with some markings on his lower chin walking towards him. His mask remnants consisted of a necklace made out of teeth, a pair of skull earrings and a ridge of spikes running down the center of his forehead. His outfit didn't seem too out of the ordinary except he had no black socks and the outfit itself looked a bit more religious.

"Heh… I didn't expect to be here either but you know how hard Halibel can hit."

A thoughtful look came on the other male's face. "But this does present a good opportunity for me to examine you for possible demonic possession."

"…… that doesn't sound right. How can a spirit itself be possessed?"

"Ah, yes… I don't believe Aaroneiro has told you that story. You'll have to ask him to explain it to you later but first, let's get the examination out of the way. I assure you that it will only take a moment."

"Fine." Ichigo figured that at least this beats getting totally lost in this place and he can play along some more to minimize any suspicions. He followed the other man down the corridor, keeping note of the directions. Finally, he paused in front of a door on the left wall and opened it.

Inside was a small chamber with very little light except for the candles near the right walls. A table was next to the candles with what appeared to be a few cube-shaped objects and a small cross. "Hmmm… her _Caja Negación_ should be this one right here." He picked one up off of the table and channelled some spirit energy into it before tossing it on the rug. Before Ichigo knew it, out came an _Arrancar_ with a frilly dress, large poofy sleeves that cut off at her shoulder, short purple-colored hair, teardrop markings on each cheek, and knee-high boots. The remains of her hollow mask are positioned in her hair right above the left side of her forehead and resemble a spiked hairpin.

She was panting heavily as if she had been subjected to some torture of some kind. The time traveler remained silent while the other man approached her. "Have you repented for your sin of blasphemy, Cirucci Thunderwitch?"

If looks could kill, the man kneeling near her would have been turned into ash. "…… just because I don't display the same devotion to Aizen that you do, Zommari… doesn't mean I'm a traitor!!"

The man who had been addressed as Zommari merely sighed. "I see that you have not repented enough. Perhaps some additional time meditating in solitude will allow you to see the light." Before he could take the object again and reactivate it, he felt someone else grip his arm.

"Geez… kinda jumping the gun with the whole punishment thing, aren't ya?" muttered Ichigo. "What's the deal here anyway?"

He got a pair of surprised looks from the two _Arrancar_ on the floor. Zommari broke out of his shock first by responding. "She and two others have promoted dissent by expressing dissatisfaction with their roles in Aizen-sama's army."

"Really? What happened to your rank, lady?"

It took her a while to find her voice as she was more than surprised that the First was asking her something like this. "I have served as one of the Espada for at least a year, when you guys were still just _Adjuchas_-class _menos_. Then when he brought back that object a few months ago, we were demoted in favour of you guys…!" Her voice wasn't as fiery as it was before but it still contained hints of bitterness.

"Our strength is what determines our place in Aizen-sama's forces. You should understand that as an _Arrancar_," said the dark skinned _Arrancar_ calmly. "Fresa, with your permission, I will send her back-"

"Denied. Her attitude is not one of treason."

"W-what?"

"Think about it, Zommari. She had been faithfully serving as an Espada for over a year and then all of a sudden, she gets downsized to something not as significant. It's a blow to one's pride for sure and there will be some resentment towards the source, regardless of devotion," explained Ichigo. "You also should consider our instincts…"

"Instincts?"

"We are creatures of instinct, focused on devouring souls. The _Shinigami_ are the obstacles in that path as the protectors of those souls. So it's only natural to question ourselves when the ones leading us are former _Shinigami_. Hollow versus _Shinigami_… it's a conflict that has been around long before we were born." It was strange how easily the words came out but having an inner hollow probably allowed him to understand this conflict a lot more than he realized. "In any case, she ain't a blasphemer. Same with those other guys as well."

"I see." Zommari got up and took two more cube-shaped objects from the table before releasing those who were trapped inside. One of the former prisoners had a large orange afro while the other looked like the devil himself. "Privaron Espada Dordonii Alessandro Del Socacchio, Gantenbein Mosqueda and Cirucci Thunderwitch… you have been mercifully judged by the Primera Espada as reformed members of our society dedicated to our cause. Go in peace."

The three Privaron Espada quickly bowed in front of Ichigo before they scrambled to get away from the chamber. Ichigo bent down to pick up the scattered cube-shaped objects and handed them back to the other man. "Here ya go."

"Actually, they belong to you. I asked you about borrowing them earlier so I could punish those three since I was unable to find my own in the midst of all my creations. Don't you remember?"

"Uh… yeah!! Now I remember… the whole black-out thing's messing with my short-term memory and stuff," said the time traveler with a nervous laugh.

"Well, we better get down to the examination. I do not wish to delay you for too long." Zommari picked up the cross from the table, which had a poorly sculpted humanoid figure on it that had a pair of square framed glasses on its face.

"… what's with that sculpting?"

"It's a representation of Aizen-sama. I made this one recently. Do you think it's good?"

Normally, he wouldn't mind telling someone that their art is crap (God knows how many times he told Rukia) but considering his situation, he had to choose his words more carefully. "Um… to be honest, it's not very good. Then again, it's hard to capture the essence that is Aizen-sama in artwork and such…"

"You do have a point, Fresa. I shall have to continue trying to properly create a symbol that could reflect our leader. Now then… have you recently said anything in a foreign or ancient language in the past 24 hours?"

"_Butto eet's tha pellavico tharusto zat reelee darivas yuu eenzana."_

He slightly shivered at the memory. "Uh…… no."

Zommari nodded before continuing. "Do you feel any stronger than usual?"

"Not particularly."

"Hmmmmm… what about knowledge of hidden or remote things that you never knew before?"

"Nothing comes to mind."

"Now for a few more tests." He placed the front of the cross so that it would directly touch Ichigo's forehead. "Ah… no aversion to the holy symbol but let's try something a little stronger just to be certain." He quickly went back to the table to put back the cross and then headed deeper into the room to retrieve one more item.

For some reason, the way Zommari said that unnerved the time traveler. "What do you mean stronger?"

He came back with a clay object which consisted of a sphere with a handle that is ten centimetres long. "Hold this."

Ichigo took the object with a confused look. "I don't feel anything…"

"That's good to hear. If there was something possessing you, the Holy Manhood of Aizen-sama would have surely caused you to react in a blasphemous manner."

His brain came to a screeching halt as soon as it registered the words 'Holy Manhood'. "You mean… this is…?"

"Well, as you mentioned earlier, it's difficult to capture the essence that is Aizen-sama. I'm certain his appendage is far more magnificent than the sculpture you hold in your hands…"

Without wasting a moment, Ichigo placed the sculpture in Zommari's hands. "I really gotta get going now so… bye!" And just like the Privaron Espada did earlier, he scrambled out of the room and back in the corridor.

'Notgaynotgaynotgaynotgay' was the mantra running through the youth's head. Although it was probably a good thing that he found out about the thing after he touched it since he probably would have blown his cover if Zommari told him beforehand. He could picture it now…

"_I ain't touching that thing! No way in hell!!"_

"_POSSESSED!! THOU ART POSSESSED!! But not to worry for I shall save thee, Fresa Abismo!!" Zommari took out a much larger size of the Holy Manhood of Aizen-sama, which seriously freaked Ichigo out._

"_Hold on a second!!"_

"_THE POWER OF AIZEN-SAMA COMPELS YOU!!"_

_**WHAM!!**_

"_THE POWER OF AIZEN-SAMA COMPELS YOU!!"_

Yeah… with that guy's attitude, such a scenario wasn't so far-fetched.

As soon as he paused to catch his breath, he remembered that he was still holding those three cube-sized objects in his right hand. They seemed to act as both a storage device (as Ulquiorra had demonstrated earlier with how easily he transported his reports) and as a prison of some sorts. Either way, these things can come in handy later. After he placed them in his uniform pocket, he took a moment to get a hold of his surroundings. At the end of the corridor, he could see something that looked like an exit right next to a door on the left.

'Ah, good… I can get outta here before-' His thoughts were cut off as the door on the left opened and a youthful male _Arrancar_ with short black hair and a feminine face stepped out rather upset. Ichigo could see three diamond-shaped markings above the left eyebrow with the Hollow mask remnant resting on the left side of the other man's head. It looked like a comb in a sense. As for the outfit, he had rather long sleeves and the handle of his blade could be seen just beneath his left armpit.

Just as he exited the door, he turned around to face the occupant inside the room. "I swear that you will regret mocking the great paper fortune teller, Szayel Aporro Grantz!!"

'Szayel? That's the name Aizen mentioned earlier…' At least he could get one more thing out of the way so that he wouldn't have to worry about it later.

"Go away, Luppi," replied a flat irritated voice from inside before the door slammed shut in front of the black haired male.

"ARGH!! Do you want me to start strangling the life out of you?! I can do that, you know!!"

"I don't think he's listening, Luppi," remarked the time traveler in a casual and disinterested tone.

Luppi's look of irritation vanished quite quickly. "Fresa? Oh, right… you're here to see Szayel about that thing earlier."

"Uh… yeah… so if you don't mind…" He tried to slip by but the other _Arrancar_ got in front of his way.

"I bet you a country's worth of souls that my paper fortune teller can be of more use in determining the cause of your ailment rather than the stupid science that Szayel preaches!!" In an instant, the smaller male took out a carefully folded piece of paper with flaps.

"Aizen-sama said to see Szayel and that's what I'm going to do…" He raised his spirit pressure slightly, hoping that the other _Arrancar_ would get the message.

Unfortunately, he still stood his ground. "Dammit, just let me try!!"

Ichigo wondered how he should properly resolve this little problem. He could probably just push Luppi aside and get into Szayel's lab but he was certain that Luppi would continue to bother him for a while about the paper fortune teller. He could always indulge him but he didn't want to mess up whatever image his native counterpart had built up here (and blow his own cover in the process). One thing he knew for sure was that there seemed to be more tolerance for violence and punishment in general. This is probably related to the savage nature of the Hollows.

Physical blows probably won't be too effective due to how tough the skin of an _Arrancar_ can be so it was down to using his sword or using one of those Hollow attacks that he had been able to use against his father in their battle. He remembered one of them being a light attack with a quick discharge. That should be enough to scare him off. "Oi, Luppi?"

"Yes?"

He pointed the tip of his right finger at the feet of the other _Arrancar_, charged with a _bala_. "Scram." Without wasting a moment, he let out a small barrage of projectiles towards the ground.

Rather than running in terror, Luppi dodged the attacks in a manner that struck Ichigo as odd. There was some sliding, some pivoting, some crotch grabbing and spinning a plenty. To be honest, he couldn't really call it dodging… it was more like dancing.

Then as soon as the smaller man performed the Moonwalk, the time traveler stopped firing his barrage, in the hopes that he would see an end to this bizarre sight. To his dismay, Luppi continued to dance... and even started singing. And what scared Ichigo was that Luppi's performance wasn't half bad…

"_Billie Jean is not my lover. _

_She's just a girl who claims that I am the one…!_

_But the kid is not my son!"_

That was when the corridor was plunged into darkness, with the exception of a few glowing squares around Luppi. Ichigo managed to hear a door open and the voice of Szayel yell out "MY BAD!! I'll get the power up again as soon as possible!!" before the door slammed shut again.

"We got a stage!! Boys… it's show time!" With a snap of his fingers, two _Fracción_ appeared behind Luppi. They were dressed in a white fedora, a glittery white jacket, sparkling silver shirt, tight white pants cuffed high to showcase white spangled socks and white penny loafers, and a single sequined glove was worn on the left hand. Their Hollow masks resembled sunglasses of some sort. "One… two… three…!"

Maybe if he moved carefully, he could get past the Moonwalking trio with their glowing squares…

"_Billie Jean is not my lover. _

_She's just a girl who claims that I am the one…!_

_But the kid is not my son!"_

Or not…

"_Billie Jean is not my lover. _

_She's just a girl who claims that I am the one…! _

_But the kid is not my son!_

_She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son!"_

As the power was restored, the door opened again and a crabby looking man with pink hair, glasses (or rather his Hollow mask that looked like a pair of glasses) and a beaker with some liquid in it popped out. "Would you keep it down?! Some of us are trying to work here!!"

It was a case of rather poor timing as one of Luppi's back-up dancers accidentally smacked the beaker out of Szayel's hand while screaming "HEEHEE!!" in the spirit of the song, causing it to crash against Ichigo's forehead and spill the contents over the youth's hair.

"…… ow…" It was the only thing he said before he fell to the floor unconscious.

**Chapter 4 Preview**

"_Billie Jean is not my lover. _

_She's just a girl who claims that I am the one…!"_

"Luppi…"

"_But the kid is not my son!"_

"Luppi."

"_She says I am the one, but the kid is not my son!"_

"Luppi!!"

"HEEHEE!!"

"Suppress, _Brujería_!!"

"What gives?! I can't dance anymore! Zommari, have you lost it?!"

"You are the one who has lost it!! Your impersonation of a human musical artist has stolen the spotlight away from the Holy Manhood of Aizen-sama!!"

"Okay, I don't think people are interested in guessing how well endowed he is… except for maybe the yaoi fans…"

"The Power of Aizen-sama compels you!!"

"OW!!"

**OMAKE: Shinigami's Cup Golden!**

"As of today, I am leading the mission record with a total of 50 missions complete compared to your 49 missions."

"…… geez, I didn't realize you were keeping count." Ichigo merely twitched at the amount of paperwork that the other _Arrancar_ had pulled out before he sighed. "Look… there's just been a lot going on for me lately. The whole black out thing and getting some new _Fracción_…"

Ulquiorra paused as he took out a card from his pocket and started reading from it. "It appears that your flames of youth need rekindling. Allow me to help you, my eternal rival."

"…… what?"

"That attitude of yours is very hip and makes me angry," read the Fourth from his card in a deadpan tone.

"CUT!! Yer doin' it all wrong! Ya gotta put some more life into it!!" The sudden appearance of one Ichimaru Gin definitely caught Ichigo off guard.

"I still do not understand why you are having me read this."

Gin merely put his usual grin on his face. "You'll find out in time but first, we need ta put on some proper bushy eyebrows, fix that hair and get ya in the green spandex. Charlotte Coolhorn'll take care of that."

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Ichigo before he was handed a magazine.

A Playboy magazine.

A Playboy magazine which he had seen before at one Ishida Soken's residence.

"I'll try and git you something better. I swear," said Gin with a smile.

The time traveler put two and two together and merely scowled at the former Third Division Captain. "…… you are one twisted son of a bitch."

"Aw, shucks!! Thanks fer the compliment!"


	4. The Strawberry Who Folded Himself

**Sonido to the Future! – The Strawberry Who Folded Himself**

_Disclaimer_: Bleach is the intellectual property of Tite Kubo.

'…… seriously, what the hell was that?' It was the only thought Ichigo could come up with while he felt himself falling. So far, he's met up with a wacky religious guy, a Michael Jackson fan and Darth Ulquiorra. At this rate, Aizen will probably come and tell him that the reason he assigned those _Fracción_ was so that he could get laid and vent his hormones while staying focused on fighting for his cause.

Then he noticed something strange in that it was taking so long for him to hit the ground. He also didn't feel the familiar weight of the Hollow mask remnants on his face. 'Wait a second!' He opened his eyes to see the weary black and white inner world moving as he was in freefall.

'If I'm back here, then…!' Ichigo didn't have too much time to ponder on this as his ears picked up a distinct static sound. Without wasting a moment, his right hand grabbed the hilt of _Zangetsu_ on his back and whipped it out in time to block the strike from the _Zangetsu_ of his rather angry looking _Arrancar_ counterpart.

"How dare you. How DARE you… do you have any idea what you have done to my image?!"

That last bit about the image caught Ichigo off guard, giving Fresa a small opening to get in one good blow. Unfortunately for him, a third _Zangetsu_ flew from below to break up the two blades. A quick glance to the source showed his Hollow self had thrown the sword like a flail, with his white hands holding tightly on to the black wrapping.

"**Che… missed…**"

Without wasting a moment, Ichigo grabbed on the hilt of the Hollow's sword just as it was pulled back to its wielder to get some distance from the Primera Espada. He didn't have the most graceful of landings when he fell on his butt right beside his Hollow self as soon as he released the hilt but at least now he has some breathing room. "Were you trying to take my head off back there?!"

The Hollow merely laid his blade lazily across his shoulders. "**Not particularly but you happened to be in the way. The question is why the hell are you back here already?**"

Before he could answer, Fresa phased into view in front of both of them. "I'll kill you for this insult!! You… just used my body and made me watch that horrid dancing of Luppi's… and got me caught up in that idiot Zommari's religion to Aizen-sama!! Even though I think he is the greatest being to have come into existence, I'm not crazy enough to get involved in that religion and touch the Holy Manhood!!"

"You were seeing all of that?" asked Ichigo.

"**Uh… yeah? Well, not everything but we just got bits and images. Speaking of that Holy Manhood thing, I'm starting to get a bit concerned about which way you swing-**"

"I'M NOT GAY!! How the hell was I supposed to know that sculpture was supposed to represent… that?!"

"ARGH!! The image I took years to build up is gone!!" screeched Fresa as he gripped his head in frustration.

The Hollow raised an eyebrow at that statement. **"He… had created an image? Geez, what's with this fucked up role reversal?**"

"What do you have to complain about?! At least I'm not a perverted mod soul who goes around giving kisses to others!" The idea of being compared to Kon was unbelievably insulting from Ichigo's point of view.

"YOU GAVE KISSES?!"

"It's in one ear and out the other with you people, isn't it?! I said that I'm not-" He didn't get a chance to speak further as Fresa's spirit pressure flared up. Then he heard that static sound again and felt himself flying back by the sheer force of simply blocking the Espada's charge. There was no help from the Hollow as he merely grinned at Fresa's revived offensive.

"**Heh…… so he's starting to get a little serious, eh? Looks like fun…**"

'Didn't that Hollow bastard say he was going to keep him busy and soften him up or something?! Dammit!!' Maintaining his defence against the pressure of the Espada's power and strength was taking every ounce of concentration he had and required him to keep both of his hands on his sword, much like the time he had to defend himself against Urahara when he had trained under him briefly prior to his visit to Soul Society.

That's when he noticed the posture of the _Arrancar_ who was pressing the attack. It was the same one-handed posture that Urahara had used when he pressed his own offensive. 'The left hand's free?! That means…!' He could see traces of spirit energy being gathered in a concealed location on Fresa's body and quickly remembered this particular tactic when he and his Hollow temporarily bonded to fight his father. His old man managed to squeeze out of the jam by using a spiritual shield of sorts. Unfortunately, he didn't have his own shield but he still had one ace up his sleeve to get him out of this mess.

Fresa stretched out his left hand, fully charged with a _cero_. "SURPRISE!!"

Focusing his spirit power into his sword, he felt the white cloth quickly wrap around his right arm. "_BANKAI!!_"

"……!!"

The amount of energy coming from the final release of Ichigo's sword and the accompanying smoke coming from the release of power forced Fresa to back off from his attack. He fired the _cero_ blast anyway and an explosion occurred somewhere in the smoke. The Espada frowned, knowing very well that his opponent wouldn't be downed by such an attack. "…… come out, come out wherever you are…"

Fresa then swung his sword to the right, blocking a strike from a long black nodachi. He managed to take a quick glance at the invader, who was now wearing a black coat, before he phased out of view. "No more games…" Just as the next strike came from Ichigo, the _Arrancar_ grabbed the end of the blade with his left hand. Although small traces of blood leaked from the palm of his hand, the Espada showed no sign of pain or discomfort.

The youth had a look of surprise at how quickly it took his opponent to read his movements. "Shit!!" Just as he cursed out loud, Fresa used the opportunity to yank the wielder of the black blade a bit closer before kneeing him in the stomach. Then Ichigo felt a strong fist hit his cheek and sent him plummeting to the ground.

At this point, something a bit more practical like a _Gran Rey Cero_ would have been more efficient in terms of dealing more damage but as far as Fresa Abismo was concerned, this mockery deserved to be cut into tiny pieces. With a _sonido_ burst, he landed near the hole made by Ichigo and prepared to strike while his opponent was still feeling groggy until he felt a thin blade pierce his right shoulder. "What?!"

"**Haven't they taught you to mind your surroundings? How the hell did you become one of the Espada in the first place?!**" A flick of the wrist and the _Arrancar_ was sent flying in the air just as Ichigo crawled out of the hole and saw his Hollow self in a similar outfit to his own tapping a white long nodachi on his shoulder. He looked up and saw this timeline's counterpart up in the air open for an attack.

"I ain't saying thank you," grumbled Ichigo as he glared at the smug face of his Inner Hollow.

That didn't wipe out the smug look as he simply gave a casual warning. "**Quit spacing out.**"

"Shut up!"

As for Fresa, he was cursing himself for forgetting about the white abomination. Before he could correct his posture, he heard a 'swish' sound and managed to see the black robed youth gathering spiritual energy on one side and the white one on the other doing the same thing while cackling maniacally. Then, they both struck at the same time.

"_**GETSUGA TENSHO!!**_"

The simultaneous blasts of spirit power muffled any scream that may have come out of Fresa's lips as he was sent crashing down below. As smoke rose up from the ground as a result of the impact, the Hollow stared down below at the scene and spoke. "**That's not gonna keep him down for long so get going!**"

"Right!"

While his King flew back to the waking world, the Horse merely waited for the _Arrancar_ to get up. '**I'd been hoping that he wouldn't have gone **_**bankai**_** early but I guess it couldn't be helped. You've got the advantage now, **_**Arrancar**_**-san. Don't blow it…**'

**OOOOOOOOOO**

The first thing Ichigo felt when he returned was a cold metallic sensation wrapped around his neck. He reached up to take it off when he heard a voice interrupt him. "Please don't remove that collar yet, Fresa. I have yet to complete my analysis."

He turned his head to the source of the voice and managed to see a group of freakish looking _Arrancar_ scurrying about the room, getting read outs and other such materials for their pink-haired master, who was seated near a pair of blades resting on an examination table. The youth easily recognized the long black nodachi but the other blade looked a lot like his first oversized _zanpakuto_ except it had a larger guard separating the blade from the handle along with jagged edges along the sword itself. In a strange way, it reminded Ichigo of a chainsaw.

Before he could try and get a closer look, the effeminate face of Luppi got in the way. In his hands was the paper fortune teller that he had folded. "Yo!! How's it going?"

A scowl immediately appeared on the time traveler's face. "What is he still doing here?"

"He still wants to do that fortune thing on you. Besides, I owe him for protecting my equipment from the black flames that were dancing around you," murmured Szayel.

This grabbed Ichigo's attention. "Black flames?"

"Yes… it was shortly after you fell unconscious back in the corridor. It seemed that the contents of my experiment that spilled on you acted as a catalyst of sorts to increase your spiritual powers… although I can't see how that would have worked since that wasn't the intention of the original formula. The flames had engulfed both of the swords you were carrying with that cleaver on your back turning into this black katana and your normal blade transforming into this…… chainsword, for lack of a better term." He gave a small sigh of regret. "You really are quite a fascinating specimen. A shame I can't study you and your powers extensively."

The way Szayel casually said that seriously reminded Ichigo of that Clown in Soul Society. He tried to come up with another question but the flapping of the fortune teller started to annoy him. "Would you stop it?"

"Not until you select a colour between red, blue, green and orange!"

"How about you go pay a visit to Darth Ulquiorra? You know the one from the planet Vulcan who can melt your brains out?"

Luppi blinked for a bit at that strange statement before deciding on a colour. "I guess I'll go with your hair colour as a reference. Orange it is!" He started flapping while pronouncing the syllables distinctively. "O-ren-jii! Now please choose a number between one and eight."

"Szayel, can you hand me my sword so I can cut Luppi into five pieces?"

'FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP, FLAP' went the fortune teller before Luppi spoke again. "Now choose from the numbers one, three, six and eight!"

"Unfortunately, we can't kill off fellow Espada on the basis of them annoying you. And before you bring up how you killed off Nnoitra, he was the one who acted like an idiot when he tried that sneak attack on Neliel and Halibel to prove that belief about women being in their rightful place and to provoke you into fighting him at full power so he can experience that death wish of his."

That was when one of the lab assistants spoke up. "Um… I thought Master had given Nnoitra-sama a little-"

He was cut off by Szayel's sword quickly slicing into his vocal chords. "Honestly Verona, can't you stay focused on your task instead of jabbering on and on?"

"Just what did that guy mean earlier about you giving Nnoitra something?"

Szayel sheathed his blade before pushing up the rim of his Hollow mask glasses. "I merely gave him a warning about not acting so foolish. Anyways, it would be bothersome for Aizen-sama to have to find a new Sexta Espada so Luppi will have to stay in one piece."

"I heard the number one so I'll go with that!" Luppi pulled back the flap to read Ichigo's fortune out loud according to the paper. "Your fortune Fresa is as follows…… you will face powerful obstacles as you travel towards your goals but the Power of Love shall save you."

There was an eerie silence in the lab except for a quiet, wistful sigh from Lumina, the sole female _Fracción_ under Szayel Aporro Grantz. Luppi frowned as he reset the fortune teller. "That doesn't sound right. Let me do it again."

Szayel immediately objected. "No. I've tolerated your presence long enough and now I must discuss matters of extreme importance with Fresa. Please leave at once."

Luppi casually put away the teller and got up from his seat. "Fine… I'll just beat it." At that cue, the _Fracción_ that accompanied him immediately had their jackets turned to red as they accompanied their master singing and dancing towards the exit.

"_Just beat it, beat it, beat it, beat it! _

_No one wants to be defeated!_

_Showin' how funky and strong is your fight!_

_It doesn't matter who's wrong or right!_

_Just beat it…!_"

"OUT!!" It was a clear indication on the limits of Szayel's patience as he forcefully tossed the three Michael Jackson fans out into the corridor before slamming the door shut.

Ichigo had a bit of a nervous feeling as he looked at the fuming scientist. "So… what did you want to talk about?"

Szayel straightened up before responding. "I'll get to that in due time but first…" He headed back to his desk and rummaged through a stack of papers in one of his drawers before pulling out a few cube-shaped devices. With a flick of the wrist, the devices were thrown into the visible holes of each of his _Fracción_ and they vanished without a trace.

It took the youth a moment to register what just happened in his head. 'That's how it works? It's a good thing to know but it won't be easy to use on those who don't have a visible hole.' He filed this information away for later as the metallic device around his neck was removed by the pink haired _Arrancar_.

After the scientist placed the device away in his desk and sat down on his chair, he casually addressed his companion who was now sitting up on the examination bed. "Let's step back and look at this scenario for a moment. Your medical history has not been out of the ordinary except for your spirit power's rate of growth. Even then, the growth would be gradual as you fought and aged over time. Then all of a sudden on two separate occasions, you black out and your power shoots up even further which I find rather peculiar."

"I know that already!" mumbled Ichigo as he tried to stay in character of his counterpart in this timeline. "It's not something I can explain you know! I don't remember if there's any particular link between the two events that may have acted as a catalyst for this growth! If anything, that's something you can probably figure out since you're the brains, right?!"

"You seem more agitated than usual, Fresa," replied Szayel with a hint of amusement.

"Of course I'm agitated! On one hand, we should be reporting this incident to Aizen-sama assuming that Luppi hasn't done so but if we present incomplete information, we would look like fools!"

"And of course, this would look poor on our service records. Since that's the case, I will need you to be completely honest with me during our investigation. Are we in agreement?"

Ichigo gave the scientist a weary look. "You'll keep what I may say here to yourself?"

"Aizen-sama respects the confidentiality between a doctor and a patient. If there is something pertaining to your health or power that you do not wish to be reported, I will respect your wishes."

"…… in that case, I have a condition of my own before I volunteer any information."

"Oh?"

He waited a moment before he finally knew what he needed to do. "If I'm going to tell you information, then you need to tell me about the work that you're doing in here."

Szayel had a slightly confused look on his face. "You've never taken an interest in my work before."

"I've been trying to figure out what type of potential abilities that can come out from these new powers. Your instruments could be the key to finding out for certain what I can do." 'And with any luck, one of these new instruments can serve as a new time travel device since I don't have that train on me…'

"So an exchange of information?"

"That's right," replied Ichigo without a trace of hesitation.

The other _Arrancar_ nodded. "I understand now. Skid row bro."

"…… what?"

"It's from a story that I recall prior to my life as a Hollow about a human who viewed others as lambs waiting to be eaten or something like that. You know about how I tell you something and you tell me something? Skid row bro."

"Don't you mean _quid pro quo_?" asked Ichigo as he wondered how this apparently bright minded individual could bungle up a Latin phrase so easily and mess up the mood of the moment.

At least Szayel had the decency to look embarrassed from his faux pas. "Shut up!! Like I know anything about the culture of inferior beings!!"

**Chapter 5 Preview**

"This is it. Szayel's my only shot at getting home and restoring everything to what it was!!"

"Fresa, who the hell are you talking to?"

"Uhhhh… myself. I'm a paranoid schizophrenic, Grimmjow."

"I'm happy for both of you. Now would you make your fucking move already?!"

"Okay… I'm attacking myself in Chinatown."

"Trying to commit suicide?! You won't take away the glory of my army vanquishing yours, Fresa Abismo!!"

"_Szayel-sama, please don't be so hasty!!_"

"Your strategy has taken too long, Verona! There is one course of action left to take!!"

"_Wait!!_"

"KAMIKAZE!!"

"_NOOOOOOOOOOO!!_"

"So I won this game of Risk? Sweet ass!"

"I'm still here, guy."

"I have to deal with Luppi's wussy army?! Goddamn!!"

**OMAKE – Ichigo and Ogichi's Excellent Adventure**

At the mention of the word chicken, Ichigo's attitude complete changed to one of pure determination. "Nobody calls me chicken!! I'll show you that I'm no yellow bellied coward!! Hang on!!" He pressed his foot against the gas pedal to accelerate the De-Lorean even further.

As hot sparks flew around the vehicle, Ichigo blinked. "Just what time period are we going to anyway?"

That was when the Hollow realized that he had totally forgotten to set the time circuits while arguing with the King earlier. "**Oh, shi-**"

That was when the darkness surrounding the vehicle disappeared and sunlight filled their vision. Outside, he could see that he was approaching some sort of primitive village and could make out the astounded looks of the villagers. And straight ahead was a teenage girl dressed in a school uniform of sorts stomping on something. She didn't even seem to notice the vehicle. "Dammit… watch out!" He slammed on the brakes as hard as he could but it didn't seem that it would be enough to stop.

If it weren't for a strange woman dressed in a mix of silver spandex and armour (the left shoulder plate reading 'Heaven Wolf') with a pair of horns on her head stopping the vehicle, they probably would have ran over the girl. As soon as Ichigo got out from the driver's side, he winced as he felt the cold vapour rising off of the exterior. "Ow…"

He looked down to see that the vehicle had thoroughly crushed a green snake like creature except the head looked a bit more like a demon with a single large horn coming out of the forehead. "Uh… sorry?"

The teenage girl pouted. "And I was just going to learn the demon's name!"

"What shall we do with them, Urara-sama?" asked the other horned woman as she kept a sharp eye on the two who exited the vehicle. Ichigo was startled to see that her legs looked like a pair of rear legs belonging to a horse. And as for the girl named Urara, she looked quite similar to Tatsuki except with her hairstyle being slightly different. There were also strange drawings on her legs and neck.

"Just hold on for a sec, Kenso. Hmmmmm… what are your names?"

"I'm Ichigo… and as for him…" He pointed a thumb over at his Hollow counterpart. "He's my tagalong."

"**Asshole.**"

"Well… I guess it's lucky for me that Kotono finished my new rune!" said the girl with a sunny smile before she started removing her top to reveal more drawings on her upper body.

"Oi!! What are you doing?!"

"**If she wants to flash her tits, that's her call.**"

That was when she started making strange hand gestures around the drawings on her bare breasts. "Open the runes! Open! Heed the voice of the one who seals you! The two gates… obedience and death! Enter the gate that shines on my flesh! Rune demon! Ichigo!!"

"…… the hell?" That was all he got out before both he and the Hollow felt a vacuum effect coming from the teenage girl's body. Before they knew it, both of their faces were now glued to one breast each.

"Eeeekkk!! What just happened?!" shrieked Urara.

Kenso carefully examined the two strangers stuck to her master. "It appears that their soul power greatly exceeds yours. Even if they were demons in the first place, you cannot seal them in."

"…… YOU PERVERTS!! You knew this all along, didn't you?!"

Ichigo was barely able to get out a muffled "Wait a minute!" before his head was hit repeatedly by the girl's fists.

(I'll be doing a mini omake story for a bit. The segment here is part 2 with part 1 available at the end of Sonido chapter 1.)


End file.
